This race was ONLY a training run for IM Japan in May. My plan was to run 3:30 and try and do it somewhat comfortably. But it was a marathon so I knew there was going to be some pain involved. But let me start from the beginning.

There were 2,500 runners today, so the start was very crowded. Unfortunately my race number put me right at the back of the pack, so it took about 1 and a half minutes just to get to the start line. I started off well though. For the most part I was more concerned about weaving in and out of the slow runners in front of me than my pace. They really should have organised the starting line better.

Anyway, I got to the 6km mark, which was the first time that I actually saw a marker as I had been so busy dodging and weaving. I took my split and was happy to see I had come in under 5min/km. I thought I might have been a little slower due to the crowds but I managed to weave my way through relatively well.

When I took my split at 8km I was surprised to see 9:16, which put me at 4:38/km. Hmmm, I'm going quite a bit faster than the 5min/km I had planned I thought, but I felt good so I went with it. I also knew the hills were coming later so I thought it might be good to have some time up my sleeve when I got to them.

It was also at about that time that an old guy, a REALLY old guy (I would actually find out after the race that he was 63!!), tagged on to me and actually ran past me. He looked like a "runner" and he seemed to be running the same pace as me, so I decided to tag on to him. I followed him for about 2km or so, and then I decided I'd tagged on long enough and decided to move up next to him and we ran together from there on.

I was feeling good at this point. I felt solid, my breathing was well under control, my pace was really good and above all I had a good partner to run with. Actually my "partner" and I were like a train. We were just constantly rounding other runners up, one of the benefits of starting at the back of the line I guess. A few of them would hop on the train for a few hundred metres or so, but most of them got off at the first stop.

We hit the hills a little after the halfway marker, which I split in a little under 1:40, well under my goal pace of 5min/km. The hills weren't actually as bad as I had expected. Don't get me wrong, they were by no means easy, but from the profile on the entry form I had expected much worse. More like rolling hills rather than long climbs.

We continued to move throught the field and we dropped a lot of runners on that 10km section. We climbed the last hill, which was the worst, just after the 30km mark, turned right, and headed for home. Thankfully we had managed to maintain our pace and we split 32km in just a little over 2 hours 30. If I could just hold it together over the last 10km I knew I would smash 3:30 and was even a chance of going under 3:20.

I still felt pretty good at that stage. My breathing was still well under control and I felt like I was running smoothly. We continued to round up runners as we negotiated a few small climbs from 32 to 36 kilometres. It was at that point however that my running partner decided to pick up the pace a little and we split the 2km from 36-38 in 9:14 - our fastest split since the 22km mark.

By now, my legs were starting to get pretty sore. The hills had taken their toll on them. At that point I let my 63-year-old running partner of over 30km go. We had said nothing to each other the entire way, apart from one time when he had given me a small piece of candy and another time when I offered him a bit of banana I had picked up at the aid station. However, it was obvious that we both appreciated each others company.

I started to slow a little at that point. It would have been easy to drop off the pace. I was well under my goal time, and in the end, this was only training. But I looked at my watch and I knew that if I could just hold it together and keep around 5min/km I would break 3:20. I didn't want to run all that way and just miss out. So despite my pain, I picked the pace back up.

I got to the 40km marker and was happy, and a little surprised, to break 10 minutes, as I had for EVERY other split. It was just a case of mind of matter now. I kept moving and the crowd slowly started to build as I neared the finish, chearing us on and waving their little flags in typical Japanese fashion.

I turned left onto the field that led to the finish line and took a look at my watch - 3:20 was in the bag unless I fell over. It was certainly no IM finish line, not even a clock, but I was happy to see it non-the-less. I stopped the watch as I crossed, looked down and saw 3:19:04. Mission accomplished.

Not much really. I only trained specifically for this race for about 3 weeks, with only 2 long runs of more than 3 hours. Combine that with that fact that I'm currently carrying about 5kg more after my December break and you could say that it is a mirracle that I even completed the race, let alone in under 3 hours 20 minutes.

I was also happy with that fact that I pushed through the pain barrier after the 38km marker. I was hurting but I kept on moving and managed to do every kilometre of the race in under 5 minutes. The fact that I'm a stubborn bastard and a stickler for numbers probably helps. But never-the-less, it's a valuable lesson for any Ironman.

Most of all I was happy with what I proved to myself. My only other marathon I did previous to this was during IMWA. In that I had bonked completely and ended up doing the marathon in about 4:45. Today I redeemed myself and proved to myself that I am capable of a good marathon time.

I just kept walking around the finish area. I didn't want to stop as I was afraid I may seeze up completely. My legs felt almost as bad as they did after IMWA.

After about 10 minutes I sat down in one of the chairs they had provided and took the timing chip off my shoe. I went and handed it in, got my t-shirt and staggered over to where the rest of my group was sitting, picking up some pork soup on the way.


As I said, I had VERY limited training for this race. I know I could run a lot faster if I trained specifically for a marathon. I would say that at the moment however, my muscular endurance is my biggest limiter for Ironman Japan.


A good race. In typical Japanese fashion, it was very organised. But the start was set up badly. They should have had us lined up according to time rather than race numbers. There also weren't enough aid stations. They were spaced out about 4 or 5km apart. Twenty five minutes is a long time to go without a drink.